WACO – Kiara Wright led all scorers with 18 points in a double-double effort against the No. 1 team in the nation and the defending National Championship Baylor Lady Bears as the TexAnns traveled to the Ferrell Center for an exhibition.
 
“First of all, I would like to thank Coach (Ronnie) Hearne for coming. He's a real trooper,” said Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey. “We were running around trying to find a game Friday afternoon and Coach Hearne was gracious enough to come down and play us. I can't thank him enough of that.
 
“His team played hard,” she continued. “I don't care what the scoreboard says – they could have turned it off – it's about making memories and making players better. They have a great team and a great coaching staff and they're going to do very well. I'm pulling for Tarleton State.”
 
Tarleton got the scoring started for when Cheyenne Berry opened the game with a layup. After Baylor knotted the score at 2-2, Shanae Lowrance gave the TexAnns the lead right back with a layup of her own.
 
Wright and Berry chipped in one and two free throws, respectively, to bring the score to 8-7. After a Baylor layup, Peyton Adamson kept it a one-point game with a two-ball of her own.
 
From that point on, turnovers were the key factor to Baylor's big runs.
 
The top-ranked team in the land forced 22 turnovers in the first half, which led to 29 points, however, the TexAnns were holding their own.
 
Tarleton, over the first 10 minutes, were out-rebounding the Lady Bears 8-5 and were even in that category following the first 20 minutes of action. Tarleton also held the lead in free throw percentage (60%) and 3-point percentage (50%) at halftime.
 
In just 20 minutes of play, Kiara Wright was nearing a double-double with seven points and six rebounds at halftime. Keyra Johnson and Berry had five and four, respectively.
 
In the second half with just over 15 minutes left to play, Wright reached double figures with 11 points after backing down and spinning into the paint for two. She immediately added another two on Tarleton's next possession.
 
At the 10:34 mark, Wright snagged a missed Baylor 3-pointer to give her 10 rebounds on the night and a double-double to go along with 13 points.
 
With time winding down, Tarleton got a spark off the bench when freshman Morgan Ashmore drained a pair of 3-pointers, including the 3-ball to give Tarleton
 
At the 2:44 mark, Wright went to the free throw line where she drained one of two and the one point gave the TexAnns their 47^th point of the game. The 47 points is more than the final score of 13 of Baylor's opponents from last season.
 
At the 29 second mark, Kimber Koonsman drained a baseline runner to give Tarleton 49 points – which is more than 16 of Baylor's opponents last season.
 
Wright finished the game with 18 points to lead all scorers and 12 rebounds while Johnson and Ashmore were next with seven and six, respectively.
 
“As far as the point guard position, we have two freshmen battling there and I thought they both played really well,” said Hearne. “Baylor was nice to us and back off the pressure a little but what I liked about them tonight is they looked like they belonged here.”
 
As a team, Tarleton was 20-47 from the floor and grabbed 25 rebounds. They also added 30 points in the paint.
 
The TexAnns played in front of 7,622 fans at the Ferrell Center in Waco Monday night. The reigning AP Player of the Year Britney Griner was inactive for the Lady Bears in a coach's decision.
 
“We have great crowds at Wisdom Gym, I think the best in the Lone Star Conference, but there is nothing like playing in front of a crowd like that and playing a great, great team,” said Hearne.
 
Tarleton will open the regular season Monday night when they host Texas Wesleyan at 6 p.m.